Episode 14
To Save a Small Life: Lady Doctor Megumi to the Rescue is the fourteenth of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series. Plot Dr. Oguni Gensai sprains his back, while attempting to wash himself down with water drawn from the well. Kamiya Kaoru and Myōjin Yahiko assist Takani Megumi in taking care of her patients. The two face far greater difficulty than anticipated (Kaoru even ends up covering a patient's face with bandages, in an attempt to follow Megumi's example). Patients continue to seek Megumi's aid and she overlooks the fact that an old lady is unable to pay for her medicine, her primary concern being the lady's welfare. Right afterwards, Sagara Sanosuke assisted by his friend, Tomo, help a critically wounded man into the clinic, while Ginji explains to Megumi that an attack took place at the gambling joint, at the hands of the Hishimanji Guren Gang. Megumi responds without delay, asking Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano to lay him down, while she pulls out a set of intricate surgical tools. Tomo asks Sano if it is safe to trust their friend's life to a woman, while Megumi observes the bedraggled abrasions all over his body and demands the others to hold him down as she helps close up the wounds. By moonlight, Megumi is finished and she keels over on the spot, after declaring her work complete. Sano leaves the clinic and while outside, he turns around and says "thanks", in a tranquil heartfelt manner. The next day, in the Akabeko, Ginji begins recounting the dexterity and precision, by which Megumi was able to treat the injured man's wounds, while Tomo expresses his desire to get sick on purpose, just to be healed by her. Sekihara Tae tells him to pay his bill before doing so, while Sano demands more rice. A shady-looking man is then shown sipping wine on another table. Megumi, assisted by Yahiko, is then shown in a the Kanekura family's residence, tending to their daughter, Kaede. Megumi tells the child that she must endure the slightly bitter taste of the medicine prescribed, if she intends to be cured. She also informs her parents that the child's room must be better ventilated and exposed to sunlight if she is to recover. The parents tell Megumi to give them the most expensive medicine for their child's sake. Megumi adamandly says that the medicine prescribed by Dr. Gensai is the best recourse. Afterwards, Megumi tells Yahiko that the parents are very imperceptive in believing that their money can help lead the child towards a quick recovery and tells Yahiko that if they heed her advice, the child's ailment should be treated. Meanwhile, the suspicious man seen earlier in the Akabeko is shown walking besides Megumi and suddenly collapses on the spot, claiming that his stomach is hurting badly. People begin crowding the man and ask for a doctor to be brought over and Yahiko reassures them, saying that the rumoured doctor (i.e. Megumi) is present. Megumi checks the man and realizing that there is nothing wrong with him, she mildly hits him in the head and tells Yahiko that they are leaving. Meanwhile, the Hishimanji appear and openly question Megumi's behaviour, who responds that she can only heal the ill. Yahiko, along with the others, is bewildered by her actions and a man calling himself Raikō appears, holding a large staff with a uniquely forked end with four candles inside each hollow tine. He claims to have mastered mystical powers from the "gods" over his years of training in the mountains and further boasts that he can cure any illness. Raiko then sets alight the candles on his staff and then slams it on the ground shouting "Kokyō Byōma" and then "Onriedo abiraun-kensowaka". He then places a container on the ground, fills it with a strange liquid and begins swinging his staff above it, repeatedly chanting "Onriedo abiraun-kensowaka", as Megumi leaves the place in revulsion. Sano then appears and sees what is going on. Once Raiko is finished, he extinguishes the flames on the candal and offers the pretender the liquid, claiming that it is permeated with the powers of the gods. He drinks it and claims to be healed. The Hishimanji then begin boasting about Raiko's powers and hoards of people, dazzled, begin surrounding him and imploring that he help heal their sickly relatives. Yahiko and Kaoru then fill in Kenshin regarding all the events that had taken place and Yahiko says that he was revulsed by Megumi simply abandoning the sickly man. Kenshin replies that she must have seen something that the others did not and Kaoru asks him to explain, but he simply states that he does not know. Meanwhile, the Hishimanji begin conspiring to bring about Megumi's downfall by telling the people what had taken place, in hopes that her patients will turn their attention towards them instead of her. Raiko is then shown admidst them and it becomes apparent that he and the Hishimanji have been plotting this from the beginning, in hopes of swindling and profiteering people. One of the Hishimaji then voices his plan to bring ruin upon not only Megumi, but all doctors in the area. Megumi's patients begin leaving her, one by one. She leaves her clinic and as she is walking along the streets, crowds begin treating her suspiciously and whispering rumours about her. Ginji then explains to Sano and Tomo, in the Akabeko, that Raiko treats his richer patients more favorably, among those seeking his aid. He also speaks of how Raiko charges an outrageous price for "holy water". Tomo also notes that the Hishimanji are the ones spreading all the unpleasant rumours about Megumi. Tae then joins in the conversation and Ginji explains to her that the Hishimanji know no limits and are even more sinister than the Yakuza. Sano then leaves the Akabeko, worried about Megumi. Megumi and Yahiko continue walking until they notice members of the Hishimanji right ahead of them. She notices them holding Kaede and runs towards her, saying that moving her would pose a serious threat to her well-being. One of the Hishimanji states that Raiko has been hired to heal her. As Megumi tries rush to Kaede's rescue, the Hisjimanji man attacks her, dropping her on the ground. Yahiko, subsequently rushes to her aid, but is unsuccessful. They then leave the scene in a cart and Yahiko dashes forward, vowing to find out where they are going. Raiko is then shown performing his ritual to "heal" Kaede. Megumi and Yahiko then interrupt him in the middle of his prayer and Megumi tries to talk sense into Kaede's parents, saying that money will not heal their child. Mr. Kanekura then asks her if she abandoned a sick man, as he had heard and she responds that the man was faking it. Suddenly, the same man, makes his way into the building, angered at Megumi's accusation. He then pulls out a blade and says that he cannot allow Yahiko and Megumi to go free, since they are now aware of the plot at hand. He opens the door and the other Hishimanji members behind him begin grinning in an ominous manner. One of them then yelps out as he is attacked and Sano is shown making his way to the scene. They begin fighting and Sano easily defeats them one after another, while Yahiko uses a stick to defeat the others inside the building, telling Megumi to rescue Kaede. As Megumi makes her way to the sickly child, Raiko intervenes, but Sano comes to her aid, beating him senseless and winking at Megumi. Sano also beats up the man faking sickness earlier on giving him genuine injuries. Megumi then gives Kaede her medicine, as she is held in her mother's arms and her parents thank her for her concern. Megumi tells the parents that in order for the child to be treated properly, she needs to be given the right medicine, adequate rest and most important of all, love and care from all those around her. She reaffirms to the parents that wasting away money for no reason will not do their child any good. Sano then gasps and tells the others to duck, jumping over them in order to protect them, as a cannon-ball flies into the building. Some of the Hishimanji still conscious are then shown outside holding a wooden cannon, the same one used in the gambling joint, which left his friend critically wounded. Raiko is still inside the house and faints, after another cannonball is discharged. Kenshin then appears and condemns the actions of the Hishimanji, saying that they will now have to go up against him. They simply scoff at him, saying that a mere "vagabond" stands no match against their advanced weaponry, as they point the cannon at him and fire. Kenshin cuts the cannon-ball in two as it heads towards him and says that there is no inanimate object that he is not able to cut using his Sakabatō. They all then proceed to attack him, but are easily defeated. Raiko then begins to cry, pleading for help, saying that he is in severe pain, as a result of the cannon fire. Yahiko simply derides him, saying that he should use his own prayer and the latter admits to his prayer being false. Megumi offers to help him if she agrees to her conditions. A crowd of people then observe that Raiko's house has been damage and wonder what is going on. Yahiko then comes outside, holding a piece of paper, where Raiko confesses to having been a charlatan. Megumi then tells the Hishimanji members to visit her so that she can mend their wounds. Sano tells her that as long as they're in pain, they won't cause anymore harm, but she replies that medicine is for everyone. She also notices a woun on Sano's face, but he simply brushes her aside, saying that it is like a "mosquito bite". Later on, Kenshin, Yahiko and Megumi are walking along a bridge and Yahiko notes how quickly Raiko was able to recover thanks to Megumi's medicine. Megumi states, however, that she simply gave him water. At the end of the episode Dr. Gensai's back is also healed and he says that every patient visiting him asks about the "lady doctor", i.e. Megumi, which amuses Kenshin. Kaoru states that she is still concerned about her lack of students. Yahiko ridicules her, saying that despite being skilled, she lacks in sex appeal. Angered at his remark, she begins chasing him and Dr. Gensai states that there is one thing Megumi cannot cure. Sano is then shown leaning against a wall inside the Dojo, with his eyes closed. Megumi states that she can heal anyone who is not "lovesick". Trivia *Kenshin splitting the cannon-ball fired at him in two is reminiscent of him doing the exact same thing in Act 4 of the manga series, when confronting the Hishimanji gang. Category:Television episodes